Investors in Cyprus awarded
Seven companies and organisations were recipients of the Invest Cyprus CIPA International Investment Awards.
Winners of this year’s awards were the Olympia Group, ExxonMobil, DP World, Uniteam Marine Limited, Eurobank and Arab Satellite Communications Organization (Arabsat).
A Honourary Prize for its Greater Contribution to the Cyprus Economy was awarded to the Council of Europe Development Bank.
As in previous years, awards were given to companies that actively contributed to the Cypriot economy as well as individuals who contributed to the development of the island as an international business centre.
Addressing the ceremony President Nicos Anastasiades assured that the government plans to continuously improve the country’s business environment to reinforce the position of Cyprus as a competitive, innovative, stable and fully transparent destination for business and investment.
He expressed his gratitude to investors for their vote of confidence and determination to develop their businesses in Cyprus.
“In this respect we recognised the i mportance of maintaining sound public finances, of preserving a stable and competitive tax regime, and of providing incentives for new business and investment,” Anastasiades said.
He said the government’s goal was to solidify conditions for sustainable growth in the mid and long-term horizon, under conditions of full employment.
Moreover, the aim was to reform the civil service so that it facilitates growth in a knowledge-based, scientific, hightech and innovative economy.
“The holistic digitalisation of the Tax Department, implementation of an e-justice system and introduction of esignature verification and validation are just a few examples of certain steps that have been taken to improve public service productivity levels.”
“It goes without saying that we will continue promoting transparency and demonstrating zero tolerance to any kind of mentality that could evoke phenomena of corruption or inexcusable delays in business-related processes.”
Anastasiades hoped the House of Representatives would approve a series of reforms such as the one creating an Under-Secretary for Tourism and establishing a comprehensive legal framework for Growth and Competitiveness.
“At the same time, we shall remain committed to our balanced budget policy which has been successful in upgrading our economy’s credit rating and establishing higher levels of confidence by the international investment community.”
Invest Cyprus chairman, Michalis Michael said his organisation has set specific targets and mobilised innovative tools to enhance investment interest in Cyprus.
“An ambitious reform strategy, as well as a series of targeted initiatives in selected markets and business audiences allowed us to stimulate investment interest in new and existing projects and sectors, while capitalising on the opportunities created by international developments,” said Michael.
Anastasiades congratulated Invest Cyprus for the awards initiative and “extend my praise to GOLD magazine for its hard work towards its implementation”. The awards were presented by sponsora PwC Cyprus, Eurobank Cyprus, TFI Markets and Grey Goose vodka.